Boldmere St Michaels 3 Long Eaton United 1
Northern Premier League Midland Division Tuesday 10 March 2026
Boldmere remain at the top of the Division’s Form League after this win (their third in a row), all against former bogey teams we’ve previously found it hard to beat. One change was made in what is now a settled team, Connor Armstrong starting in place of Harry Crook. The Blues, by contrast, had a fairly changed team from our recent, abandoned, match.
Knowing the organised, passing game our opponents employ, the Mikes were evidently instructed to run and harry at all times. An untidy start saw the ball frequently despatched from view; but after Connor Pace had put an accurate centre over the bar, the hosts went ahead, James Tague picking up a rebound and running through to fire home, on eleven minutes. The visitors responded immediately. Given the game’s first free kick, just outside the home box, after hitting the wall, the ball was sent into a crowded goal mouth. From the resulting chaos, Long Eaton striker Evan Garnett was able to push the ball home, to equalise. Hardly had we restarted, a liquid move upfield ended with Fraser Doyle piercing the back line, to slide clinically home. Three goals in the first quarter of an hour! Were we in for a goal fest?
No. We had to wait for the approaching half hour before a reflex Lewis King save denied a rampaging Tague: the offside flag denied Connor Armstrong; and a lovely interchange between Tague and Frankie Ealing saw the ball whizz past the post. The Blues were on the front foot for the rest of the half, Jonno Brown pushing a Garnett effort away for a corner, and tipping a long Owen Betts dipper over the bar. Half time: 2-1.
With the hour arriving and the score unchanged, Long Eaton made a double substitution and changed formation. As the rain began to fall on a bitterly cold night (just over a hundred hardy souls had turned out to watch this entertaining spectacle), Brown was called on to deflect another Betts finish to a flowing four man move, for another corner. The Mikes, meanwhile, were looking continually well connected and dangerous, and it wasn’t surprising when, on sixty-eight minutes, Tague latched on to a through ball, to double Boldmere’s lead.
Could the homesters now successfully sit on their cushion, for the remaining half hour? Dogged defence had enabled them to keep clean sheets in their two previous fixtures; and it now needed Dan O’Callaghan to hack away a free kick from right out on the left. Faced with defence in depth, our guests looked to be running out of inspiration at times, and a last ditch Brown intervention was all that was needed to preserve Boldmere’s advantage.
The usual end-of-game scenarios unfolded, as the Mikes were loath to venture up the park, and the Blues (their keeper coming up for their last corner) played with prompt urgency. As expected, a continual stream of substitutes arrived…both teams put in tired, inaccurate passes…Boldmere found a passing fascination with the far corner posts…and the final whistle brought exhausted relief.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Kye Bilton; Pedro Lima; Daniel O’Callaghan; Aris Christophorou; Kyle Byrne (Harry Crook 76); Jack Burgess; Fraser Doyle (Ben Croot 90+1); James Tague (Tolani Omotola 86); Connor Armstrong (Charlie Manners 69); Frankie Ealing (Jaiy Leydon 85).